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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26468329">if there's somebody calling me on</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupcakeb/pseuds/cupcakeb'>cupcakeb</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Elite (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Roommates, they also have a cat which plays a major role in all of this</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:47:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,465</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26468329</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupcakeb/pseuds/cupcakeb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><br/>She texts the guy to ask whether she can drop by to see the place and it takes him three minutes to reply, which she thinks must be a good sign. <em>do you like cats and sangria</em> is all he’s written, and sure, she does, so she types out a quick answer, then laughs again when he tells her to come over <em>now</em> — it’s seven o’clock at night on a Sunday.<br/><br/>OR: Rebeka is looking for a roommate when she stumbles upon a rather eccentric Craigslist ad. She has no idea what she's in for.<br/></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rebeca "Rebe" de Bormujo Ávalos/Valerio Montesinos Hendrich, a bunch of background ships I won't tag because they're barely in it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>if there's somebody calling me on</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I know, I know... this trope is overdone and cheesy, and totally cliché but... I love it anyway!</p><p>(yes, the title is a lyric from <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4lO57zZGFcj7vSY4QhfVDq?si=QK2dDvdGTxOXGGZ0-_TvVA">that obnoxiously cheesy Robbie Williams song</a>)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She finds the ad on Craigslist. She’s newly back in Madrid, starting her Masters next month, and as much as she loves her mother, she’s not sure she wants to spend more time than necessary living in her suburban mansion.<br/>
<br/>
The roommate wanted ad sounds… Peculiar. It’s a whole bunch of esoteric nonsense about the garden this guy tends to, and how he’s looking for someone with a flair for the supernatural. He has added a disclaimer at the bottom saying he’s not willing to live with a Sagittarius or a Libra, which Rebe thinks is fucking hilarious, and even though he’s included almost zero information about himself or what he actually does for a living, she’s intrigued. His must-haves for a potential roommate are listed as “must be normal, not afraid of biiiig cats (!), have extravagant taste in fashion” and Rebe thinks this guy is either an insanely flamboyant gay man or just a fucking crazy person. Either way, she’s curious.<br/>
<br/>
He sounds interesting, which is kind of what Rebeka is after — she can afford to live on her own, thanks to her mom’s generous sponsoring, but she likes the idea of the sort of easy to keep company only a roommate can provide. Bonus points if they’re the sort of interesting weirdo that’ll instantly integrate her into his circle of friends — most of her friends have moved away from Madrid at this point.<br/>
<br/>
The la Autónoma campus isn’t far from the city center and she’s got a car — again, thanks, mom — so location isn’t a huge factor for her. Would she have picked Chamberí if this guy didn’t happen to live there? It’s a little too central and posh for her, so probably not, but the dude from the ad sounds entertaining enough, and Chamberí isn’t <em>just</em> elitist and fancy — there are normal parts, too. And it’s really pretty, so why the hell not.<br/>
<br/>
She texts the guy to ask whether she can drop by to see the place and it takes him three minutes to reply, which she thinks must be a good sign. <em>do you like cats and sangria</em> is all he’s written, and sure, she does, so she types out a quick answer, then laughs again when he tells her to come over <em>now</em> — it’s seven o’clock at night on a Sunday.<br/>
<br/>
But fuck it, Rebeka’s totally spontaneous — or that’s what she wants this dude to think — so she replaces her PJ pants with leggings, keeps the oversized hoodie on, and puts his address into maps as she gets out her car keys.<br/>
<br/>
This is either gonna be the start of a beautiful friendship or the story of how she almost got kidnapped — either would be welcome to make this dull Sunday more interesting.<br/>
<br/>
**<br/>
<br/>
She's a little surprised when she walks up to the building and there's a ripped shirtless guy standing in front of the door waiting for her. He’s wearing a loose-fitting pair of gray yoga pants, and it takes her a moment to stop staring at his abs and look him in the eye instead. His hair is dark and curly and a total mess, and he’s grinning at her.<br/>
<br/>
Well, okay then. Apparently bougie Craigslist guy is <em>hot</em>.<br/>
<br/>
“Welcome home,” he says, then stands back to let her walk in first.<br/>
<br/>
Rebeka briefly wonders if she’s setting herself up for being handcuffed and tortured in his rape dungeon by just walking in before he’s even told her his name, and immediately blushes when she finds herself thinking that wouldn’t be so bad. God, she’s so easy — this is totally how Ted Bundy got women to get in the car with him too. Hot guys can definitely also be serial killers. Oops; she’s gonna need to shut down any acknowledgment of his hotness right now if she wants this roommate arrangement to have any chance of working out.<br/>
<br/>
When they get to the kitchen, he pours two glasses of sangria and she kind of appreciates that he drinks from his first, ‘cause now she knows it isn’t spiked with anything. “I’m Valerio,” he says, which is exactly the sort of name she expected from a guy with mad scientist hair like his.<br/>
<br/>
“Rebeka, but call me Rebe,” she tells him, then picks up her drink and eyes him warily.<br/>
<br/>
“Okay, Rebe,” he says, putting a hand on the small of her back and guiding her around the kitchen table, motioning for her to sit down while he hops up onto the counter. “This is the kitchen — nothing fancy, but good for hosting people and reheating leftover pizza.”<br/>
<br/>
Oh, good. He’s not one of those people who spend hours recreating Jamie Oliver recipes then; that’s promising. It looks nice enough, fairly modern and the fancy hardwood floors seem polished. She wonders if he owns the place. “Is that a wine fridge?”<br/>
<br/>
Valerio laughs. “Good eye,” he says. “I work in the wine industry — it was a gift from one of our distributors.”<br/>
<br/>
Rebe whistles. “Fancy,” she says, when all she really wants to ask is how he can possibly have a real job at all — he looks like a wealthy homeless person, which is a hilarious contradiction.<br/>
<br/>
“Good old fashioned nepotism,” he tells her, kind of answering a question she didn’t ask — they’re apparently vibing well. The sangria in his glass is already mostly gone. “I try to spend most of my week actively counteracting any adulting I end up doing in a professional capacity.”<br/>
<br/>
Yeah, she can tell.<br/>
<br/>
“So Rebe, you’re…” He watches her closely, which feels a little intimidating if only because she’s wearing absolutely zero makeup and her greasy hair is braided down her back because she was too lazy to wash it today. (She didn’t know he’d be <em>hot</em>, okay?) “You’re in the market for a place to live?”<br/>
<br/>
Well, that’s not what she was expecting him to say, but okay. “Yeah, I just moved back to Madrid and would love nothing more than to get away from my mother.”<br/>
<br/>
She gives him a quick rundown of her likes and dislikes but keeps the list short. He probably doesn’t need to know the backstory as to <em>why</em> she hates onions, just that she’ll puke if she finds them in her food. “Also, if you don’t watch shitty TLC reality shows, we can’t be friends,” she adds, and he laughs and nods, so that’s apparently fine.<br/>
<br/>
There’s some commotion at the kitchen door, and then it creaks open, revealing one of the biggest cats she’s ever seen. Rebe follows enough cat fact Instagram pages to recognize the breed as a Norwegian forest cat, and kind of fangirls over them, or <em>her</em> — “Her name is Cleo,” Valerio scolds when she uses a gender-neutral pronoun to refer to her. (Sue her for trying not to misgender felines, alright?) Cleo is a large, fluffy ginger lady and easy on the eyes and Rebeka really wants to live here now that she’s seen the cat.<br/>
<br/>
He shows her the room he’s looking to rent out next, and it’s basically what she saw in the ad — a fairly spacious, mostly empty room with a nice window front. It’s nothing special, but she’s not looking for much more than a place to sleep and at least she’ll be able to furnish it herself.<br/>
<br/>
The rest of the apartment’s nice and pretty tastefully decorated, with a large living room and a balcony overlooking the street, and she’s genuinely curious why he even wants a roommate if he can afford this sort of place. Fuck it, she can probably ask.<br/>
<br/>
“I like having people around,” he says, shrugging sheepishly as they’re chatting on the balcony. “My ex is a little—“ He looks like he wants to say something rude but stops himself. She can respect that; not all relationships have to end in name-calling. “She was usually the one to help me be social and now that’s she’s moved out, I need to get out more.”<br/>
<br/>
“So you’re looking for a girlfriend, not a roommate,” Rebe deadpans, and he laughs. “You know picking up women on Craigslist is fucking creepy, right?”<br/>
<br/>
It’s probably a good sign that they’re already joking around.<br/>
<br/>
“I totally would’ve kidnapped a man, too, I’m not picky,” he says.<br/>
<br/>
“Same. Don’t be weird when you come home to me making out with hot chicks on the couch.”<br/>
<br/>
It’s always nice to be upfront about shit like this — she’s met too many ignorant people to count over the years. Valerio barely even reacts to her statement at all, so they’re gonna be alright. He just grins, clasps a hand over her shoulder and nods.<br/>
<br/>
“So, are you in a hurry? I kind of want to get drunk.”<br/>
<br/>
Yeah, this is gonna work out just fine. She tells him she can move in whenever, asks a few practical questions about contracts and security deposits and background checks and he just laughs and hands her a beer.<br/>
<br/>
“I like you,” he says, still grinning like a maniac. He seems almost cartoonish in his carefree attitude, but also genuine. “You can sleep on the couch tonight and then we can get you a bed at IKEA tomorrow.”<br/>
<br/>
She clinks the neck of his beer bottle with hers and smiles. “Sounds like a plan.”<br/>
<br/>
**<br/>
<br/>
She recruits Samuel to help her move all her stuff on Tuesday while Valerio is out. He’s her go-to friend in town for anything requiring heavy lifting, because he’s too nice to say no, and he makes quick work of putting together the IKEA shelf and desk she picked up the other day. They’re on the couch in the living room having pizza when Valerio gets home so she briefly introduces them and tries not to laugh when Samuel gives her a look as if to ask if she’s sure she can live with this person.<br/>
<br/>
When Samu leaves later that night, Valerio plops down on the couch next to her with two beers and hands her one. “So.. Is he your boyfriend?”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh god, no,” she shakes her head laughing. “We went to high school together.”<br/>
<br/>
She’s kind of exhausted from hauling ass all day, so she puts her feet up on the couch and tries not to moan when Valerio pulls them into his lap and starts massaging them as they talk.<br/>
<br/>
“But you’ve fucked him, right?” She gives him a dubious look and he shrugs. “I felt it in the energy shift in the room.”<br/>
<br/>
Rebe thinks Valerio is full of shit, mostly, but she’s also amused by his bluntness. Like, most people probably wouldn’t ask a virtual stranger they just moved in with about whether they’ve fucked their friend before. Thankfully she’s not the kind of person who minds invasive questions.<br/>
<br/>
“Furthest we ever got was me drunkenly blowing him when he needed cheering up after a bad breakup,” she tells him and takes a sip of her beer. He looks at her with a little smile on his face, like he’s impressed and didn’t expect a straight answer. “What about you? You mentioned an ex.”<br/>
<br/>
He runs a hand through his hair. “We dated for a year. She’s the reason this place doesn’t look like a total dump.”<br/>
<br/>
“You moved in with someone you only dated for a year? Ballsy.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then again, he doesn’t really seem like the conventional type when it comes to... literally anything.<br/>
<br/>
“We’d been together for a few months at that point,” he says, shrugging. “She was in-between places and I’d just bought this one so it just made sense,” he pauses to grin at her. “Not my best idea.”<br/>
<br/>
Rebe studies him. If you look past the weird silk tie-die shirt — she almost wants to call it a blouse — and the slim golden headband holding his hair back, he actually seems kind of normal. “Why’d you break up?”<br/>
<br/>
“My friends all hated her,” he says. “And I didn’t really like her group of friends, either. Might sound silly, but that can really ruin a relationship long term.”<br/>
<br/>
She hums in agreement.<br/>
<br/>
“Let’s drink to being bad at relationships,” she grins, and he raises his beer in a silent toast. <br/>
<br/>
**</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rebeka isn’t <em>bad</em> at relationships. You can’t be bad at something you’ve never really attempted. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The closest she ever got — and god, it hurts to even think about comparing it to a real relationship — is Nano, who she’s basically been sleeping with on and off since she was sixteen and stupid enough to fall for the whole bad boy thing. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Now she’s twenty-three and he’s twenty-seven, and yet neither of them has ever really outgrown the other. They still casually hook up whenever Rebeka is in town, which means she should probably tell him she moved back here for good so she can get some. It’s a chill arrangement because she doesn’t have to worry about either of them catching feelings, and the sex is hot because they know each other inside out — no pun intended. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Maybe she should consider telling Samuel at some point, but it feels a little awkward to just randomly throw, “By the way, I’ve been fucking your brother for the past seven years,” into a conversation.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But feelings? Fuck those. She’s terrible at feelings. The only time she thought she had them for someone was halfway through undergrad in Sevilla, when she somehow fell in with this group of cool French art students and one of them declared she was gonna be his muse. It was a stupid fling that lasted maybe three weeks (27 days, but who’s counting...) and in the end, she was left alone, with several weird portraits of herself that she still can’t bear to look at to this day, and the distinct urge to swear off men for good. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The last thing she wants to do is date anyone. Dating fucking sucks because it requires putting yourself out there and being open-minded and vulnerable and testing the waters — a total waste of time in most cases. No, Rebe wants to just fall into a relationship without having to actively seek it out; preferably with someone she knows well enough to know the chemistry will work. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Maybe Valerio has hot friends to set her up with; that would be ideal. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">** </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">One day in September, she comes home from a boxing workout to find Valerio in the kitchen with some tall, pale blonde guy whose grin is cocky and clueless at once. He’s hot, so she winks at him, then purposefully squeezes past him to get herself a juice box from the fridge (shut up, she doesn’t care that they’re for kids — they’re delicious) and smirks a little when his eyes linger on her cleavage. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yeah, she’s only wearing a sports bra and a tight pair of Nike shorts. There’s probably sweat dripping down her neck; she really needs to shower. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Rebe,” Valerio says, interrupting their little moment. She leans back against the fridge and looks over at him. “Wanna join me and Guzmán for dinner?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She can see there’s lasagna in the oven, and even though she doubts Valerio is much of a cook, lasagna is pretty hard to fuck up, so why not. She nods and smiles at the boys. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Cool,” Val says, then grins at her. “Can you put on some fucking clothes before, so Guzmán over here won’t slip on a trail of his own drool?”<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That warrants a little teasing, so she hits Valerio in the head lightly and runs a hand through his hair, messing up his curls. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dinner is fine, and now that she’s wearing an oversized shirt and a pair of sweats, Guzmán seems less distracted. He’s nice, even if he comes on a little strong, and she kind of wonders why the hell Val would be friends with this sort of person. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I used to date his sister,” Guzmán explains, which is another tidbit of random information she’ll add to her mental Valerio file. She didn’t know he had a sister. “We kind of bonded over how intense she is.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Guzmán leaves, but not before coming over for an uncomfortably close hug and honestly? She'd fuck him if he wasn't her roommate's friend, and she tells Valerio that. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She thinks she does it only to show him that she's taking this roommate arrangement seriously and doesn't want either of them to mess it up. Valerio nearly chokes on his beer as he laughs, then ruffles her hair and says, “I’m told he's kind of terrible in bed anyway."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She makes a joke about him having firsthand knowledge of that and he calls her a bitch and that's the end of that.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">**<br/>
<br/>
The first time he brings a girl home, Rebe is in the living room working on a history essay. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Valerio unlocks the door, holding some blonde chick’s hand, and Rebeka isn’t exactly surprised that he’s managed to score a girl who looks like a fucking Victoria’s Secret angel, but that doesn’t mean she can’t ogle the girl a little. They both nod at her before disappearing into his room, and he comes back out a few minutes later, now shirtless. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey,” he says, a bottle of water in hand as he stops next to where she’s sitting in the big armchair so he can crouch down and pet Cleo, who’s perched at Rebe’s feet. (The cat fucking loves her, which is Rebeka’s favorite thing in the world — the second she moved in, Cleo basically stopped giving Valerio the time of day.) </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Your staying power can’t be very good if you’re already done,” she jokes, and he rolls his eyes and grins, then drums his fingers on her knee. That’s a little distracting, so she covers his hand with hers and makes eye contact.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Carla’s kind of loud,” he tells her, maybe as a warning, and she points to the headphones next to her on the coffee table and shrugs. “Last chance to leave before the free show starts.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That’s a weird fucking thing to say, but she’s known Valerio for a few weeks now and he’s kind of blunt to a fault; he probably just wants to be real with her. She appreciates that, but that doesn’t mean she’s not the least bit intrigued to witness this free show he’s advertising. The blonde girl — Carla, apparently — is ridiculously hot and so is he, so no one can blame her for wanting to see them get it on, right?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She winks at him for good measure, then says, “Is it too late to offer my assistance and turn this into a threesome?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Valerio laughs hard enough, she can actually see his abs contract, which is just cruel, okay? He doesn’t need to show off like that. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They’re both loud. Rebeka lasts about twenty minutes before she puts on her headphones, trying hard to get her mind out of the gutter, but the last thing on her mind right now is her stupid essay on the significance of the French Revolution for modern politics. She briefly considers just getting herself off right here in the living room, but if anyone walked in on her like that it would probably be considered creepy, so she grabs her laptop and her glass of water and heads for her room. It’ll be more fun if she has some, uh, robotic help for this next part anyway. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She stifles a loud scream when she finally comes, loud enough for Cleo at the end of her bed to wake up from her nap in bewilderment, and yeah, maybe it’s time for Rebeka to get laid.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Grabbing her phone, she texts Nano before she can talk herself out of it, then gives herself a moment to calm down. A shower sounds kind of nice right now. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Valerio’s bedroom door is slightly ajar when she walks past it on her way to the bathroom, and she takes a peak mainly to satisfy her curiosity about certain parts of his anatomy. Let’s just say she likes what she sees. He apparently took her comment on his stamina to heart because this is somehow <em>still</em> going on, which is actually ridiculous. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Standing under the stream of the cold shower, it takes her longer than she’d like to stop feeling like she wants to push open his door and join them. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">**</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Nano comes over the next day, because he’s predictable and pretty much always up for sex. It’s part of why she likes their little arrangement; he’s very eager at all times. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When Valerio gets home, she’s mostly naked in Nano’s lap on the couch, and yeah, she may have decided to do this in the living room just to provoke him a little. Unfortunately, Val doesn’t really seem bothered, just says hi and waits for her to introduce the two men in the room. Maybe she should’ve had Nano take off her bra before he got here — she makes a mental note to try that next time.<br/>
<br/>
It’s weird, because she isn’t even really trying to get with Valerio, so she has no idea why the idea of teasing him seems so thrilling. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She tells Nano to go ahead and wait for her in her room, then brushes past Valerio on purpose when she walks over to the fridge for a glass of water. “Things might get loud,” she tells him, a hand on his chest, and his pupils are a little dilated — the first indication she’s seen that he might be into this playful little back and forth, too. “But you know how to handle that, right?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He’s rattled. Finally, she’s getting him to show his hand a little — it feels good to know he’s at least superficially interested in her as well. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She doesn’t expect his next move. He actually grabs her wrist, then pulls her into a tight hug, and whispers, “That’s a little transparent, Rebe,” like he thinks she’s only doing this to fuck with him. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">In her defense, that’s only, like, 30% of the reason she’s doing it at all. She also just really, really needs to get laid.<br/>
<br/>
The sex is still really, really good, but she’s slightly distracted the whole time, wondering if Valerio is listening on the other side of the door.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">**</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“So what’s the deal with you and Blondie?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They’re on the couch a few days later, three or four beers into the night, and she’s been meaning to ask about that. Carla has been over a few more times since the first time, except sometimes the two of them seem to just sit around and talk instead of getting it on, which Rebe thinks is odd. It kind of makes her wonder if they're actually... dating. Yuck.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Who says there’s a deal at all,” he shrugs, and Rebe rolls her eyes at him. “We’re both kinda lonely right now, so this is our way of commiserating.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That’s a cop-out of an explanation, and she fully intends on calling him on it when he starts running a hand up and down her thigh, ruining any semblance of concentration she had left in her current state of inebriation. He must be able to see it on her face, because he’s sort of smirking at her, watching her face intently. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What about your friend, the caveman,” he asks, and she groans at the stupid nickname he’s decided on for Nano. The cheekbones probably warrant it, but still. “He’s been around a lot.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rebe rolls her eyes and smirks at him. “Old friend,” she alludes, purposefully vague. “Having friends is important, you should try it sometime.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey,” he says, feigning offense, gripping her thigh for emphasis. “I have plenty of friends.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah? Like who? The girl you’re fucking and your sister’s ex-boyfriend don’t count.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He seems to consider that for a moment, then laughs a little and slaps her leg absentmindedly. She’s gonna need him to stop touching her any minute now, unless he has plans to pull her into his lap and kiss her. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There’s a boyish, excited grin on his face when he finally says, “We should have a housewarming party,” like suggesting it isn’t the most random idea in the world. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ve been living here for almost two months, Valerio,” she tells him, and he shrugs. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You said you wanted to meet my friends,” he’s still grinning, playing with the drawstring on her pajama shorts. “Here’s your chance.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">**</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His friends are really, really normal. Way more normal than they have any right to be, considering their association with Valerio. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Their housewarming ends up being more of a casual night in than a full-blown party, mainly because neither of them knows enough people to justify a raging blowout. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She invites her old high school crew — Samuel, Nadia and Omar, deciding not to add Nano to the mix for now, and it’s a little depressing to think that that’s all the friends she’s got left in the city. There are one or two cool people she’s met in class so far, but she doesn’t know them well enough to invite them to her house for this kind of thing yet. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Valerio doesn’t fare much better than her. The first of his guests to walk through the door is a hot, short brunette whom Rebe recognizes as his sister from pictures he’s shown her. Guzmán and Carla arrive a few minutes later, with a cute curly haired guy in tow, and when Valerio introduces them, he tells her, “This is Ander, he’s gay,” probably to save her the effort of hitting on him unsuccessfully. He’s hot so — fair point, she definitely would’ve tried. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Nice to meet you, gay Ander,” she laughs, then looks around the room to find Omar. “That guy over there is my friend Omar, he’s also very gay and very into tall guys...” Ander laughs a little, but she watches him check out Omar across the room, so yeah, they’re welcome. She’s so much better at this than any Grindr algorithm. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A few drinks in, she finds herself out on the balcony with Valerio, sort of watching their handful of friends interact inside. It’s pretty amusing. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shit, I think Samu’s hitting on your bestie,” she tells him, and Valerio puts an arm around her waist to pull her closer, laughing as they watch Samuel and Carla flirt inside. “Guess your little fling is over if she’s willing to engage with Samu’s blatant pickup lines.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Valerio laughs, shaking his head. “That’s fine, I was just helping her get over her breakup.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How noble of you,” Rebe snorts. “Super selfless.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, we work together, so it was a matter of business continuity,” he grins, and she playfully rolls her eyes at him. He’s so fucking stupid, especially when he tries to be all vague and witty. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ander and Omar are apparently hitting it off, too, so if nothing else, tonight is gonna be remembered as a matchmaking success. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey,” Rebe says, one hand casually playing with the hair at the nape of Valerio’s neck. “You’re into drugs, right?” She can’t believe she’s been living with him for two months and still hasn’t asked him about this. He has to be into drugs, though — kind of impossible for someone as eccentric as him not to be. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Valerio giggles, then shakes his head a little, sending his curls flying. “Used to be really into coke,” he says, shrugging. “But I mostly stick to plant-based shit now.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A normal person probably would’ve just said weed, but he’s insane, so she feels the need to ask for clarification. “Meaning...?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You know, weed, shrooms, ayahuasca... stuff like that.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yeah, totally normal, natural remedies like bizarre psychedelic brews that bring on strong hallucinations. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why are you asking?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rebe shrugs, taking a sip of her beer. “Just trying to get to know you better.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There’s a brief moment where Rebeka thinks he’s going to lean in and kiss her. She’s sort of half draped over him anyway, and he turns around just slightly to smirk down at her, his lips dangerously close to hers. They’re both staring at each other intently, and she feels her breathing get shallow, and if someone hadn’t chosen that exact moment to open the balcony door and interrupt, she’s sure they would’ve permanently ruined their chill roommate dynamic by hooking up. Phew. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They sort of jump apart at the noise of the door closing, and his sister is staring back and forth between them in amusement. “Didn’t take you long to start sleeping with her,” Lucrecia says, grinning at her brother. “Cayetana would love that.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rebeka hasn’t really interacted with the brunette yet, aside from a short introduction, so she’s enjoying this little display of sibling rivalry. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Just for you to know, Rebeka,” the girl says, smirking a little. “Cayetana is Valerio’s weird little ex, consider yourself lucky you never had to spend time with her. They were both miserable together but Valerio was too much of a coward to—” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s enough,” Valerio interrupts from his spot next to her, sighs like he’s used to this kind of taunting. “Come on, Lu.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What? I’m just filling her in,” Lucrecia smiles. “Hard to believe you’d go from someone that bland to—“ she glances at Rebeka, seemingly looking for the right word. “To such a... <em>tomboy</em>.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Well, she’s heard worse — that’s barely even an insult. Valerio hasn’t bothered correcting his sister on the hooking up thing yet, and Rebe isn’t gonna ruin this for him, so she just shrugs. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If their friends want to think they’re sleeping together, she’s fine with that. There are worse things than having people think she’s fucking her hot roommate.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">** </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It doesn’t take long for her to realize that Valerio has kind of become her best friend. She’s pretty sure she’s never had a friend this close — there’s not a single thing she doesn’t want to share with him, and while she’s always valued alone time, he doesn’t seem to count because she never gets tired of having him around. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">In a little more than two months, he’s become such a fixture in her life, she’s kind of genuinely confused at how bored she gets when he goes on an overnight trip for work and she doesn’t have anyone to watch Queer Eye with. (Watching it alone feels like cheating — she’s not enough of an asshole to do that to him.) </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The thing about Valerio is that he’s not <em>just</em> bizarre and exciting and interesting. He’s also just a really, really good person underneath it all; humble, always willing to help out, and generally selfless. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She’s never been in love with anyone before, but when she watches Valerio get up earlier than he has to just to make her coffee because he knows she doesn’t understand how his fancy coffeemaker works, she sometimes wonders if this is what that would feel like — love. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There’s no way she’s gonna risk this thing they’ve got going on just because she really, really wants to see him naked. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">**<br/>
<br/>
So maybe she forgets to text Nano back that one time and never bothers to pick up the conversation again. <br/>
<br/>
Maybe she doesn't have time for casual sex, now that she and Valerio are working through all seasons of Lost in their spare time. <br/>
<br/>
It's probably for the best.<br/>
<br/>
**<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">“What do you mean, you don’t <em>do</em> relationships,” Valerio looks like this is somehow a disturbing thing to say, not a common opinion. She rolls her eyes. For a self-proclaimed free spirit, he’s way too into traditional concepts like commitment and marriage and children — it doesn’t really add up.<br/>
<br/>
“I just don’t see the point,” Rebe says, shrugging. She’s currently perched in his lap, adding a generous layer of white stage makeup to his face in order to put the finishing touches on his Halloween costume. She’d normally argue Pennywise from IT isn’t a very elaborate costume idea, but Val has gone all out, even filled a few balloons with red confetti, and she’s pretty sure he’s gonna look genuinely disturbing. “It’s like you spend all this time and effort getting to know a person, and then they just wake up one day and decide they don’t like you anymore, or they cheat, and it’ll all have been for nothing.”<br/>
<br/>
“Jesus, Rebe,” she slaps his cheek lightly when he pulls a face, grabbing his chin to hold him in place. He’s gonna ruin the amazing job she’s doing with his makeup if he keeps moving. Leaning forward a little to grab onto her shoulder in a mock-serious way, he says, “Who hurt you?”<br/>
<br/>
She groans and shoves at his shoulder, then starts in on the red face paint. “Don’t fucking move,” she says, then tentatively brushes some red paint on his nose.<br/>
<br/>
“No, but really, I’m curious. I’ve never heard anyone other than pretentious fuckboys use that line about not <em>doing</em> relationships,” she sighs, moving back a little. If he’s gonna talk, there’s no way she’ll be able to pull off the intricate red pattern.<br/>
<br/>
“The whole concept seems terrifying,” she tells him. “Like, a lot scarier than a fucking killer clown.”<br/>
<br/>
When he opens his mouth to speak again, she grabs the brush and draws a red x over it to shut him up — she’ll need to cover most of the area around his lips anyway. “We can talk about how much therapy I need later, alright?” </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They’re wearing matching costumes because she was too lazy to think of anything herself, so when he suggested a yellow raincoat and a paper origami boat for a simple Georgie costume, she was immediately game.<br/>
<br/>
When they get to the party, he hands her the origami boat he made for her and grins meanly, all of his sharp fake teeth on display. “Don’t drop the boat or I’ll have to kill you.”<br/>
<br/>
They pull off a cool jump scare on Lu, who literally screams when she turns around after a brief conversation with Rebe and sees Valerio standing behind her in full clown gear, popping a red balloon.<br/>
<br/>
“Very funny,” Lu groans once she’s recovered from the scare, and yeah, it is. Rebeka is literally hunched over, she’s laughing so hard, Valerio propping her up. “Aren’t you supposed to kill her, Pennywise?”<br/>
<br/>
Valerio shrugs, putting an arm around Rebe. “I thought about it, but she’s kinda cute,” he says, and Rebe tries to hide the way she blushes by slouching deeper into the yellow hood of her costume raincoat. “I only feast on the souls of those who fear me — she seems fine.”<br/>
<br/>
They’re inseparable all night and by the end of it, she’s drunk enough to lean on him a little, burying her face in his ruffle-covered neck. “You’re not scary at all,” she tells him, and he pulls down her hood so he can play with her hair. It’s not the first time tonight that she’s found herself thinking about kissing him.<br/>
<br/>
“Neither are relationships,” he says, kissing her hair, and that thought is sobering enough to make her frown.<br/>
<br/>
Maybe she shouldn’t be thinking about kissing him at all. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">**<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">Aside from the obvious sexual tension and the casual affection they both enjoy rattling each other with, this whole Valerio thing makes for a pretty comfortable living arrangement. Which is to say the whole thing is great if she avoids thinking about how badly she wants to jump him at all times.<br/>
<br/>
He’s got people over a lot, whether it’s his sister, who Rebe begrudgingly befriends, or Carla, who is apparently casually seeing Samu now, something Rebeka is only peripherally aware of because she knows Valerio is no longer sleeping with her.<br/>
<br/>
His friends sort of become her friends, and then her friends sort of become his because they’re all spending too much time mingling. Ander is sleeping with Omar, who befriends Lu because they both like drinking martinis and have a flair for the dramatic, and Lu and Nadia bond over being scarily ambitious and wanting to strangle all the men in the world for being useless misogynistic douchebags.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a little bit of a clusterfuck, but it’s <em>their</em> clusterfuck and it’s honestly kind of domestic and cozy, having their lives be so entangled.<br/>
<br/>
Sort of by default, their apartment becomes the go-to meeting place. No day goes by without an impromptu dinner or movie night, or just drinks hosted at theirs. Not because Rebe and Val want people around but because people keep inviting themselves over — their apartment is the most central, so the most convenient place to meet.<br/>
<br/>
They make it a full four weeks before they get tired of the constant socializing.<br/>
<br/>
It’s a Monday night, and Mondays are always a fucking pain because she’s got this block of lectures on GIS systems all day, so she’s ready to pass the fuck out. Valerio is in the kitchen humming something or another as he makes dinner, and Rebe is spread out on the couch with Cleo, excited to not move for the next few hours.<br/>
<br/>
Valerio’s birthday was last week, and they actually all went away to Toledo for the weekend, where they consumed an amount of alcohol Rebe is still recovering from. She’s almost ready to start contemplating whether she’s getting too old to drink.<br/>
<br/>
They have a group chat now, which their friends cleverly named ’52’ after their street number, and when Lu texts to ask whether anyone is up for a drink, Rebeka literally groans loud enough for Valerio to come running from the kitchen.<br/>
<br/>
“If they come over,” she touts, burying her face in her hands, “I will actually strangle them.”<br/>
<br/>
Valerio chuckles. “Yeah, we deserve a night off.”<br/>
<br/>
“Right?” Rebe sits up a little, much to Cleo’s dismay, who ends up huffing out a meow as she jumps off the couch. “We do. We’re great hosts, but we deserve a night to ourselves once in a while.”<br/>
<br/>
A timer goes off in the kitchen, and Valerio runs over to drain their pasta, then walks back into the room to hand her a bowl of penne. God, she can barely even put into words how grateful she is to him for feeding her on days like these; she probably would’ve just skipped dinner and gone to bed without him.<br/>
<br/>
“A night off from the kids,” he says, grinning, and she moves over on the couch to make room for him. “You know they call us mom and dad, right?”<br/>
<br/>
That comment makes her snort, and she almost spills pasta sauce on herself when she shakes her head in disbelief. “If we’re the most responsible people in this group, I’m seriously worried about every single one of them.”<br/>
<br/>
When their phones vibrate with texts from Ander and Samuel to confirm they’re in for drinks, Rebe makes eye contact with Valerio and starts vehemently shaking her head. “No way. They are not coming here.”<br/>
<br/>
“Let me tell them,” he says, grabs his phone and types out a quick reply. “Okay, we’re good.”<br/>
<br/>
“My hero,” Rebeka mumbles around a mouthful of pasta, glancing at her own phone. When she reads his message, she has to stifle a laugh. “Val! You made things <em>worse</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
Both of their phones go off again, and the group chat is rife with speculation following Valerio’s simple <em>we’re good, it’s Netflix night, be safe</em>. Lu has just sent a long string of exclamation points, which Carla followed up with <em>using the royal we, I see.</em> Ander replied <em>sry I forgot mondays are date nights for u</em> and she’s sure there’s more, but she locks her phone before she can read anything else and groans, poking Valerio in the chest with her fork.<br/>
</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Let the record show that all of the people being dicks in the group chat are <em>your</em> friends,” she teases, and he laughs. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His mouth full of pasta, he says, “Oh, so when they’re misbehaving they’re <em>my</em> kids but when they’re being nice they’re yours? I see how it is, <em>mom</em>.”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“They’re literally never gonna let us live this down,” she decides, feeding Cleo a tiny bit of parmesan.<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">“Whatever,” he says, smiling. “At least we’ve got the evening to ourselves, right? Any Netflix preferences?”<br/>
</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They binge half of the first season of Making a Murderer and she falls asleep with her head on his shoulder at some point, and honestly? She wouldn’t mind spending all of her Mondays like this.<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">**</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The problem with having all of their friends convinced they’re secretly in love with each other is how they keep trying to catch them in the act. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After the first Netflix night is such a rousing success, Valerio and Rebe officially declare the apartment as off-limits to any non-residents on Mondays, and it only takes two weeks for their friends to start being obnoxious about it. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The first time they try anything, Rebe is scarfing down a slice of pepperoni pizza, trying to ignore Cleo’s insistent meows requesting she, too, be part of this meal. She’s got one leg up on the coffee table, the other drawn up to her chest, and Valerio is sitting next to her on the couch, holding a carton of Chinese food. Some terrible Netflix reality show is playing and neither of them is really paying attention, too tired and focused on their food.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There’s a knock on the door before she hears keys rattling the lock, and Rebe shoots Valerio an amused look. “Does Lu have her own set of keys?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He nods, and they just keep eating dinner. Before she even walks into the living room, they hear Lu yell, “Hope everyone’s decent in there,” followed by her immediately opening the door, and really, this whole thing is super transparent. When Lu walks in, she looks genuinely disappointed to see them on the couch in their PJs, eating junk food. She’s holding her phone to her chest, and the frown on her face is amusing; it’s like she expected to find them naked and all over each other. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sorry, I left my phone charger here last night,” she says, and they both laugh at the obvious excuse. She walks over to the kitchen, grabs her charger and comes back to stare at them a little more. “I didn’t realize Netflix night was actually about watching Netflix,” she pulls a pained face, then rolls her eyes. “Lame.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Valerio grins at his sister as he forks some noodles into his mouth. “What did you expect to walk in on?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, we can get laid anytime, Netflix nights are sacred,” Rebe laughs, and Valerio holds out his hand for a high five, so she slaps his palm with hers. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Lu scoffs, then turns on her feet and moves for the door, glaring as she looks back at them. “You two are some of the dumbest people I know.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She leaves and they go back to their food and that’s kind of that.<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">** </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Look, we’ve got a lot riding on this,” Carla says, an arm around Rebe’s shoulder. It’s apparent she’s had at least a few drinks before Rebe got here. The way she builds up to what she says next reminds Rebe of a football coach discussing strategy with players during a passionate huddle on the field. “Right, Lu?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Valerio had plans tonight, some new Bikram yoga class he’s trialing, so it’s just Rebe, Carla and Lu at the cute little corner pub near the apartment. If she’d known they’d go full intervention on her ass, she wouldn’t have come. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They’ve boxed her in, sitting on either side of her, and Lu is currently nodding as she throws an arm around Rebe as well. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“This isn’t just about bragging rights, okay,” the brunette says, sipping her martini. “There’s also money in play.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rebeka isn’t sure she follows. “So what you’re trying to say in this very charming, delicate manner of yours is you’ve bet actual money on whether I’m gonna fuck Valerio.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Both of them shake their head. “Not whether,” Carla corrects. “When.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Time is of the essence, Rebe, okay?” Lu taps her wrist impatiently. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This is actually fucking insane. “Is everyone else in on this?”<br/>
<br/>
They both nod. Jesus, she has terrible taste in friends. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“There’s a separate group chat without you,” Carla says, handing Rebe her phone. “The name was Omar’s idea.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Of course it was. The chat is named <em>Operation ValReb-ie</em>, an obvious play on Operation Valkyrie, and the entire conversation history is full of random sneaky pictures their friends have seemingly taken of them talking, or dancing, or just hanging out. There’s one of her asleep on Valerio’s shoulder during a recent game night, and another of her sat in his lap around the bonfire out in Toledo, and wow — how did she not notice their friends are actual stalkers until now?<br/>
<br/>
“This is literally psychotic,” Rebe tells them, then hands the phone back to Carla, who’s nodding like she knows this. Rebe finishes her drink, and Lu immediately waves over a waiter to order her another one. “Can’t believe you got Nadia to agree to this... You’re a terrible influence.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Lu laughs, then shakes her head like Rebe is clueless. “Nadia is in charge of the spreadsheet. She coded the whole thing.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That does sound like Nadia. She’s a sucker for a good spreadsheet. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Glancing between the two girls, Rebe grins. “What dates did you bet on,” she asks. “And how does this whole thing work.”<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">“So we decided to enter as a team because that allowed us greater flexibility in terms of picking a range of dates” Lu explains matter-of-factly, takes the drinks the waiter brings over off the tray and hands one to Rebe. “You have eight days, okay?”<br/>
<br/>
All Rebe does is scoff in response. She’s definitely not gonna fuck Valerio in the next eight days, so good luck to them. “How much money did you bet on this,” she asks, genuinely curious. If it’s enough, she might be tempted to go halfsies with them.<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">“It’s fifty euros to enter, so the total pool is 350,” Carla says.<br/>
<br/>
“Plus bragging rights,” Lu adds like this is obvious. “If Guzmán and Samu beat us, we’ll never hear the end of it.”<br/>
<br/>
“Are you gonna offer me a deal in exchange for winning this for you or did you just decide to tell me about this fucked up bet because you realized how very wrong you were to bet on your friends’ lives for sport?”<br/>
<br/>
“You can have all the cash, we just want the bragging rights,” Carla says, and Rebeka starts laughing at how absurd all of this is. They’re fucking deranged.<br/>
<br/>
Taking a sip of her drink, she shakes her head as she says, “Maybe I’ll use the money to change the locks on the door so Lu will stop coming over for surprise visits.”<br/>
<br/>
“You know she was live streaming that whole ambush to us, right?”<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">She didn’t know, but that doesn’t mean she’s surprised.<br/>
<br/>
Lu is running her finger over the rim of her martini glass, a calculating look on her face. “So are you gonna help us?”<br/>
<br/>
Of fucking course not. She’s obviously not gonna sleep with her roommate and closest friend just to help these two psychopaths win a stupid bet. “Nah,” she says, patting them both on the shoulder. “But you’re paying for drinks tonight.”<br/>
<br/>
**<br/>
<br/>
When she gets home later that night, it’s after midnight, and she’s tipsy, bordering on drunk. Valerio is in the kitchen fixing himself a(nother?) glass of whiskey on the rocks, his back to her, and he’s shirtless so she can see every single muscle in his back flex as he does. That’s so not fair.<br/>
<br/>
Walking into the room and putting a cold hand on his lower back, she says, “Do you even own any shirts?”<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">“You barely ever wear shirts around the house,” he replies, then turns around to grin at her. He looks tipsy, which is good, because she’s definitely not sober. “How’s my dearest sister?”<br/>
<br/>
“Still a fucking psychopath,” Rebe says, and Valerio shrugs like this is hardly newsworthy. Fair enough — she should probably elaborate. “Did you know they have a bet going on when we’re gonna sleep with each other?”<br/>
<br/>
Valerio does not look surprised. She’s kind of impressed, actually, that he managed to keep this a secret from her.<br/>
<br/>
“Guzmán told me before the trip to Toledo,” he says. “I think he was hoping I’d offer to help him win the bet.”<br/>
<br/>
“But you didn’t,” Rebe inquires, swiping the glass of whiskey from his hands to take a sip. She almost spits it out again; whiskey is gross, but taking a sip sounded like a poignant, dramatic thing to do in her head. Maybe Lu is rubbing off on her.<br/>
<br/>
She has no idea how it happens. In no time, Valerio has his hands on her hips, pushing her against the kitchen counter, and she hops up to sit between his legs without needing to be prompted.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m not gonna fuck you just to help those idiots win a stupid bet,” his voice is quiet and deliberate, none of his usual laissez-faire attitude, and she almost fucking moans. This has to be it, right? They’re definitely gonna kiss.<br/>
<br/>
Yeah, okay, it’s probably time to stop fighting this.<br/>
<br/>
“Are you gonna fuck me if I ask you to?”<br/>
<br/>
The look on his face is positively bashful; he grins at her, then squints a little, like he’s trying to gauge the situation. He slides his hand under her jaw to kiss her, just for a second, like he's testing the waters. The quick press of his lips against hers isn’t nearly enough, and before she gets a chance to deepen it he’s pulling away again. She whines; that’s not fucking fair.<br/>
<br/>
When he opens his mouth to speak, she groans and pulls him down for another kiss instead. She doesn’t want to talk anymore. Talking is overrated.<br/>
<br/>
It shouldn’t surprise her that Valerio’s kisses are skillful and passionate — he kisses like it’s the main event, like it’s his favorite thing to do, and she’d probably appreciate that a little more if she wasn’t just a tiny bit impatient and ready to get those stupid yoga pants off of him. </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Thankfully, he finally seems to lose what’s left of his patience as well, hoisting her up to wrap her legs around his waist as he starts walking out of the kitchen. “Your bed or mine?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She likes the idea of having her sheets smell like him, so she bites down on his earlobe and tells him to go to her room. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Can you just hurry up,” she whimpers after he’s dropped her on the bed and taken her pants off. He’s currently kissing his way up her inner thigh, and she’s pretty sure she’s gonna resort to violence if he doesn’t fuck her soon. She grabs onto his curls roughly, making him moan (info she files away for later use), then pulls him towards her. “You’ve proven that you were totally willing to engage in foreplay, alright? Come on.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The second they’re both naked, she seriously wonders how the fuck she thought she’d ever be able to just be friends with him. This is already the best sex she’s ever had, and he’s not even inside of her yet.<br/>
<br/>
Then he pulls her on top of him and grabs her hips, and she kind of stops thinking altogether.<br/>
<br/>
“We can’t tell them about this,” Rebe says after, still catching her breath, and immediately reaches over to kiss him when she notices Valerio looking confused, like he thinks she’s trying to tell him this was a one-time thing. Fucking dumbass — as if she’d ever be able to give him up again. “No, I mean we can’t tell them their stupid bet was the reason we got our shit together.” </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Val grins and pulls her closer so her head is on his chest. “Lu probably has cameras all over the apartment, I’m sure there’s a live feed.”<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">She bites his shoulder hard enough to mark him up a little, then smirks. “Maybe we can get a copy. Sounds hot.”<br/>
<br/>
**<br/>
<br/>
In the end, they don’t really actively try to hide it from their friends. They act the way they always have — which Rebe now realizes was bordering on obnoxious PDA, even before, but whatever — except they don’t kiss around their friends, but that’s kind of the only adjustment they make to keep things on the DL.<br/>
<br/>
It’s mostly curiosity, honestly, that keeps them from outright telling everyone right away. The mom and dad references and the suggestive remarks have become a staple, and Rebe is genuinely surprised that it takes two full weeks for anyone to figure it out.<br/>
<br/>
Valerio is currently between her thighs, licking into her in the most delicious of ways as she’s perched on the kitchen counter. She’s got her eyes closed as she moans when she hears a loud squeal that definitely didn’t originate from her boyfriend because his mouth is kind of… busy at the moment.<br/>
<br/>
</span> <span class="s1">“What the fuck,” Lu says, and Rebeka looks up in horror as she hurriedly pulls down her skirt to cover herself, pushing Valerio’s head away in the process. Val still has his back to Lu, looking up at her in amusement, and she wipes down his face with her hand because this conversation would probably be a little awkward if his entire face was wet. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”<br/>
<br/>
She sounds both accusatory and super hyped at the same time, which is something only Lu can pull off.<br/>
<br/>
Valerio finally straightens his back and turns around, coming to stand between Rebeka’s legs, and she wraps her arms around his neck from behind. It’s kind of a huge relief to finally share these news with someone, even if it was accidental.<br/>
<br/>
“Can you come back later? We’re kind of busy,” Valerio tells her and Lu rolls her eyes.<br/>
<br/>
“I’ll leave,” Lu says, crossing her arms in front of her chest, clearly about to lay out her conditions. “As soon as you tell me when this started so I can tell the group who won the bet.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, I’d forgotten about the stupid bet,” Rebe says, laughing. “It was the night you sat me down and tried to bribe me so I’d sleep with your brother.”<br/>
<br/>
Valerio chuckles and reaches for her hand. “Well, in her defense, it kinda worked.”<br/>
<br/>
Lu looks completely elated, taking a step towards them. “<em>YES</em>! I fucking knew we’d win,” she yells, reaching for her phone. “I’d hug you but… I know where your face has been, so… Gross.”<br/>
<br/>
</span><span class="s1">Rebe is busy ruffling Valerio’s hair, one of her favorite things to do, when she hears the unmistakable sound of a camera sensor and looks up to find Lu taking a picture.<br/>
<br/>
“Sorry, just needed proof for your adoring fans,” she says, putting her phone away. “I can’t believe you didn’t just tell us, like normal people.”<br/>
<br/>
“We were working up to that,” Val says, and Rebe kind of wants to laugh at how absurd all of this is. “You can leave now, Lu.”<br/>
<br/>
“Fine,” she says dramatically, drawing out the word. “Does this mean we can start hanging out on Mondays again?”<br/>
<br/>
Valerio shakes his head. “No way, Mondays are date nights.”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, just because we’re dating now doesn’t mean we can stop having a dedicated Netflix day,” Rebe chimes in. “Though there may be some more groping involved now.”<br/>
<br/>
Lu mimes throwing up and pulls a face. “Lame,” she says, but she’s smiling a little, so she must be at least a little happy about all of this. “I’ll go fill everyone in. Have you set a wedding date yet?”<br/>
<br/>
“Goodbye, Lu,” Valerio says, laughing when Lu throws her hands up in defeat as she backs away. “Leave your keys on the counter, please.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh don’t worry, there's no way I’m ever coming over without a warning again,” Lu tells him. “I’m mentally scarred from what I just witnessed.”<br/>
<br/>
**<br/>
<br/>
Cleo absolutely hates it when they sleep in Valerio's room. She'll wake them up at the crack of dawn, hiss and meow at them until they relent and either move to Rebeka's bed or to the couch.<br/>
<br/>
"You know, she loved me a lot before you moved in," Valerio teases when they're cuddling in her bed late at night, Cleo wedged in between them.<br/>
<br/>
Rebeka stifles a yawn. "That's because she hadn't met me yet and had no idea there were much, much cooler humans out there."<br/>
<br/>
He laughs and reaches over to pet Cleo, scratching her neck the way she likes. <br/>
<br/>
"Maybe we should turn my room into an office," he says, and Cleo starts purring loudly, clearly in full agreement. <br/>
<br/>
"Be quiet, Val, god," she says, and he kisses her hair like it's the most natural thing in the world. "Cleo is trying to sleep." <br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</span></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>find me <a href="http://cupcakeb.tumblr.com/">on tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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